1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of electrical inductors. More particularly, the present invention relates to the field of electrical inductors for integrated circuits (ICs) and IC packages.
2. Description of Related Art
Electrical inductors are typically used in a variety of microelectronic circuit applications such as, for example, transformers, power converters, electromagnetic interference (EMI) noise reduction, and radio frequency (RF) and microwave circuitry including oscillators, amplifiers, and matching networks. Because discrete inductive devices result in losses, for example, due to parasitic capacitance and resistance in connecting them to an integrated circuit and because discrete inductive devices incur a relatively high cost for assembly, inductors are preferably fabricated on-chip, that is either integrated on an integrated circuit and/or in a package housing an integrated circuit. Such integrated inductors are designed, to the extent possible, to have a relatively high frequency range and a desirable quality factor Q=ωL/R, where ω is the operating frequency for the inductor, L is the inductance of the inductor, and R is the resistance of the inductor.